I realize the title is a bit blunt. But I’ve said it so much recently that it seemed an apt headline.
My house is kicking my butt.
Yes, I love old houses.
Yes, I love my house.
Yes, I love my neighborhood and my village here.
But this house is wearing. me. out. Here’s a recap of what’s been going on here.
(1) The Comcast Damage: It’s all over but the shoutin’ here, as they say. Comcast has seen the damage, admitted that their tech drilled through it, and said they would pay for it to be repaired. Now we’re waiting for payment. Which has been a slow and often aggravating process. (I’m not going into the details here now, but suffice it to say that my former life as a lawyer has come in handy and may again in the not-too-distant future, although I’m hoping to avoid that.)
(2) Waterproofing the basement, which included the installation of a sump pump, a retaining wall, and dehumidifier.
(3) Repairing damage to a soffit done by a rogue squirrel.
(4) Mold in the pantry. The mold has been remediated and it turns out that it was from an old leak in the roof. We put a new roof on the house when we moved in, so the leak is fixed. When our guy remediated the mold, he said the area around it was dry and there was no evidence of any other mold there, so YAY!
So now I’m just waiting for our drywall repair guy to come and replace and repair the drywall that was removed and/or cut from the remediation. Then I can finish the pantry project (which I naively thought would take only three days – ha!)!
Love me some demolition.
Then, this week we had days and days of soaking rains. And now there is a musty, mildew-type smell in our home. It’s like the Tell-Tale Heart; I can smell it but I can’t quite locate where it’s coming from.
I know it’s coming from the newer part of our home (our home has an original part that was built in 1929 and an addition that was built in 1990) and I know that the family room is dry because of the repairs from the Comcast leak.
So, we have an expert coming to the house next week to do thermal imaging testing – which is an amazing concept. He will use thermal imaging to find water and/or mold in the walls and other hidden areas of our home. (I’ll try to video it, because HOW COOL!?!)
I want to be clear: I am not writing all of this to whine and complain.
I am writing this because I know you get overwhelmed, too.
You have told me that you have leaks in your house. Or work that needs to be done. Or repairs that a landlord hasn’t made. And I hear you. And I want you to know that you are not alone.
This is part of the joy and pain of home ownership, especially old home ownership. The bad news is that it’s expensive, it’s a mess, and it creates chaos, which I don’t particularly like. The good news is that it’s all going to get fixed eventually, and I love this house so it’s worth it.
I wouldn’t trade it, but I’d like it to be finished, ya’ know?
If you are going through home renovations or repair, take heart. They will get finished eventually. And, in the meantime, take a deep breath and know that you are not alone. We’ve been there. I’ve been there. I am there.
A "recovering lawyer," I turned in my power suits for power tools and a life of DIY. I believe in merging old and new to make a house a home.
Yikes!
Sorry to hear it, and hope they find the source of your mildewy smell! …1st day @ florida house was woken up 6am from roofers contracted, but was glad new roof was being but in…sounded like a bunch of gremlins running above & cutting down small trees that were impeding on the roof…slept till 9 am! had arrived 1 am after long drive from yr neck of the woods to here! 3 days driving from NY in a Moving Truck!
Next week, back to NY and might be doing the same…checking what needs to be done/ completed after house leak.. Hope you don’t have to go into litigation, as you know the well worded phone call / letter sometimes does the trick!
Sometimes what feels like a quick jiffy project turns into a PROJECT (said in sloooow motion voice)!
…after roof, had pool pebble tek’d …how do u like it? uh, its white…NO ,white Pearl
…..great i asked for Caribbean Blue …..1 1/2 months later and 26,000 gallons of water later i have Caribbean Blue!
Good Luck!
Thanks, Mary! I know your plate is full, too!!
Ahhhhh Karen, I’m so right there in that same emotional/reno department too! Not one thing is going good, right down to the paint on the ceiling! Have you ever seen paint turn into a leporad type print on your ceilings? Well after scraping my living room popcorn off, I thought I was in the home stretch! Oh how wrong I was! After 2 coats of primer, 6 coats of paint it was not anything I could live with. It was awful! So called a friend who paints for a living and he came and sprayed it! Enter leporad print! So, no clue where to go from here!
Next is every single surface that I have painted is peeling faster than you can say “I”! And I’ve cleaned, sanded, primed and painted every last inch and it starts this peeling thing! I am at a “I Give Up” point right now. I have thrown up my hands in sheer frustration!
Yes, I feel your pain and frustration.
I don’t drink, but I’m considering it as an option right now! lol prayers for all us DIY’ers out there!
Oh no! Don’t start drinking!! I would check to see if you have moisture in your walls. That would cause the paint to peel, especially if you are priming the walls first, before painting. I know that latex paint over oil paint will peel, if not properly primed first, but it sounds like you primed. I’m slowly becoming an unwilling expert on moisture in a home. Sigh. Hang in there, friend!!
Don’t worry about the venting; that’s what blogging friends are for! You needed to vent, That’s okay! I am in the early planning stages for a kitchen renovation, and I will use all I read here to prepare for the worst and hope for the best! I’m anxious about the results of the thermal imaging. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you! Let’s hope for the best! Try to enjoy your weekend…..Sounds like a movie and ice cream with the family weekend!